A mediocre book which you absolutely have to read

I only just learnt that Hans Rosling died. But he left an amazing legacy. Forget GAPminder and his speeches all over the world, just this book, Factfulness, is more than enough.

There are two levels on which the book is a must-read. First of all because for pretty important basic facts about the world you live in, you are wrong. Extremely wrong. The higher your level of education, the more wrong you are in fact. And it is influencing your psychology, your politics and your decisions. On the most primitive, essential level, the planet is not as you think it is. You are pessimistic for the wrong reasons. You are basing your business decisions on false assumptions.

For anyone in communication, whether marketing or management, this book is a battle cry in terms of “how the hell can you persuade someone when they aren’t willing to listen?” Whether you want to change behavior to sell more or to save a species, if your corporate social responsibility doesn’t feel true, the answer might be in this wise man’s book.

The man was not an author. He is not a craftsman on the written word. It is like a long TED talk, like a long walk on a very long beach with a wonderful man that really wanted to make this world better for each and everyone of us.